Foolish Phantoms by Sam Clark

Author:Sam Clark [Clark, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic, Alternative History, LGBT, Alternate history, Sci-Fi, dystopian
Publisher: Leviathan Publishing
Published: 2018-09-06T23:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

Location: Underground

Date: 9-1-61

Czarina was catching her breath, hands on knees, after finishing her run. She’d pushed herself harder than she had over the last two weeks. And she was glad she had. It felt good to run fast again. She’d done so mostly because she didn’t expect to see Marisa in the corridor again for at least another ten days. As near as Czarina could figure‌—‌and she’d spent a lot of time figuring‌—‌ Marisa had to have some specific reason to be coming through that corridor alone once every couple of weeks. So, Czarina was free to be a smelly, sweaty mess after her runs for the time being without having to worry about bumping into Marisa. However, even if she’d wanted to hold back, she couldn’t have. Her muscles seemed to have a mind of their own, a desire to go faster and faster, and she’d gladly obliged.

She left the exit corridor, and was quite surprised when she almost collided with Marisa.

The suddenness of their meeting allowed Czarina to speak without overthinking it. “Hey, Marisa, how’s it going?”

Marisa didn’t respond. Instead, she took a quick peek behind her. Czarina’s eyes were drawn to Marisa’s left wrist. The sleeve was pulled up enough to reveal a nasty bruise, a mix of red and deep blue, clearly the result of a hand grabbing and squeezing.

“What happened to your wrist?” Czarina asked, despite knowing the answer. It had to have happened yesterday, when Steve dragged her off.

Marisa looked back at Czarina and rubbed the bruise with her other hand. “This? It’s nothing.”

“How’d you get it?”

Marisa leaned toward Czarina slightly. She was so close to Czarina now, they were practically touching. Czarina could smell the faint hint of soap on Marisa’s skin. It was distracting, but not nearly as distracting as her ample breasts. It took every ounce of willpower Czarina could muster not to peek down.

“Oh… um, at free fighting,” Marisa replied.

Czarina decided not to point out the obvious lie. The girls’ physical training followed the same schedule as the boys‌—‌it was just easier‌—‌and they hadn’t had a free-form session recently enough to have been the cause of a fresh bruise. Instead, Czarina said, “How’s the other girl look?”

“Huh?” Marisa said, once again looking over her shoulder. She looked back at Czarina and said, “Better than me.” A short burst of laughter punctuated the statement. It certainly didn’t sound anything like Marisa’s laugh from the day before. It felt nervous. Forced.

“I seriously doubt that,” Czarina said. It was a little bold, but as another one of her mantras went, fortune favors the bold.

Marisa smiled weakly in response. She was clearly anxious‌—‌afraid, even. And it didn’t require a careful study of facial expressions in the mirror each day to see it. It was there in the quick glances over her shoulder, the forced laughter‌—‌but somehow, it wasn’t… right. There was something else there, maybe, something under the fear, but Czarina couldn’t quite place it. Something about the intensity of Marisa’s gaze when she

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